Money and Currency

In Japan, official currency is certainly Japanese Yen (円). Note that in Japanese, this is pronounced as “en” not “yen”. But of course they understand what you mean when you say “yen”.

I have exchanged yen in many ways: in the US through banks, in other countries, and in Japan through foreign exchange places (at tourist spots like Shibuya, and at airport). Based on my experience, getting the money exchanged (from US dollars to Japanese yen) in Japan has a slightly better rate. In all honesty, I just exchange the yen whenever the rate is favorable since I go visit so often. And since cash is still golden in Japan, it’s convenient to have yen ready for my trips.

Important culture point is that Japanese don’t like their bills folded, or damaged, or wrinkled. The main exception is the otoshidama (お年玉). This is the New Year money envelope. Similar to Chinese New Year red envelope, except it’s not red, and it’s usually tiny in size. You may have seen them in Japanese stores like Daiso. The envelopes are very small, so if you put bills into it, you will have to fold it. But even for this, you will have to fold a perfectly straight bill nicely for the kids. Don’t get me wrong - you can still use the wrinkled money, especially if you got them from currency exchange, but they do prefer straight money.

IC Card (pronounced as “i-shi-cardo” in Japanese because they don’t have “c” sound in their language. It is widely used and accepted in metropolitan cities like Tokyo and Osaka, for example, as a method of payment. You can use it in convenience stores (“konbini” in Japanese), and some stores/restaurants. Other than the physical cards, you can also get it through Apple Wallet. This is super convenient as I recently just bought an electronic Suica on my iPhone and since I use my phone for directions anyway, it helps that I can just use the phone to enter/exit train station gates while looking at directions.

Coins are essential in Japan. With the wide use of credit cards and IC cards, they still remind essential when you pay in cash. If you don’t want to carry too many coins, you can always use the coins to add funds to your physical IC Cards at the train station. I think they take as low as 50-yen coins. So for the 10-yen, 5-yen, and 1-yen coins, I suggest using them when you pay cash. The cashier usually waits patiently when you count coins since we are foreigners.

Another important cultural note is that in Japan, you don’t have to pay tips. It is not expected or needed, and in some cases, it can be considered offensive.